Although some people view West Virginia as a rural state with a low population, that doesn’t mean that our roadways are any less dangerous than in other states. Just like the rest of America, West Virginia residents need to be worried about drowsy drivers, distracted drivers and drunk drivers on the roads and highways. Drunk driving, in particular, has a deadly impact in America each year.
Drunk driving in America
According to statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 30 people per day die in America due to motor vehicle accidents that involved drunk drivers. That is a staggering statistic – breaking down to about one death every 50 minutes, according to the NHTSA. Over the course of one recent year – 2018 – that totaled over 10,500 deaths due to drunk driving.
Of course, there are just as many, if not more, people who suffer injuries in car accidents caused by drunk drivers. For those who do survive a drunk driving collision, their lives – and the lives of their family members – may be changed forever.
Getting over an injury caused in a drunk driving accident can be tough, time-consuming and expensive. Severe injuries in these crashes can range from broken bones to head injuries and brain injuries, or even spinal cord injuries that lead to paralysis. Anyone who has been injured in a car accident in West Virginia that was caused by a drunk driver may be able to take legal action to attempt to recover financial compensation. If successful, that compensation could be used to pay for medical expenses, among many other financial issues that can arise in the aftermath of being injured in a drunk driving accident.
